


Screwed

by the_lavish_loser



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24267277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_lavish_loser/pseuds/the_lavish_loser
Summary: "Aren't you a little old for that show?" their mother asked casually, finally selecting the green tea."You're never too old for Dragon Tales!" Haruto, brandished his spoon like a knight with a sword."You're twenty-four and you live at home, weirdo," Kokoro slurred through a mouthful of cereal."That's off-putting.” Haruto’s tone was somewhat cheery considering the insulting topic against him."Yeah, you should be off pudding," she countered, prodding her brother’s rather flat stomach.(Koko had it all: a family where creative insanity ran in their blood, wacky friends like she was in a shitty 90's sitcom, and a budding college career in the visual arts. Then the already crazy lifestyle she steered only went even more absolutely bonkers.)





	1. Shark Bait Oo Ha Ha

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I low-key lost inspiration for my last fic. I'm still gonna work on it, but I need to keep writing so I dredged up an old story I started writing a year and a half ago. Fun times, I was 18 then and about to graduate high school. 
> 
> Anyway, this is sorta a rewrite of a fic from fanfiction.net by ehcorns caller You Win Some You Lose Some. I was and still am obsessed with it. I got permission to rework it but doubt ill ever be satisfied with how I'm reworking it so I'm hesitant to show them. I'm not a good writer, but I enjoy writing so I'm biting the fucking bullet here.

Chapter 1- 

Shark Bait Oo Ha Ha

“Do you kids want jasmine or green tea?” Renada Honda asked her dearest children Kokoro and Haruto. 

"Shhh!" Her daughter missed her mouth several times with her cereal spoon.  
"We're watching Dragon Tales!" her son added, both children staring at the kitchen's small television; two sets of near-identical brown eyes fixated on the funny characters on the screen. Renada was perplexed as to why her children couldn't simply walk the 10 feet into their spacious living room and watch their cartoons, but she felt asking would cause yet another round of shushing.  
"Aren't you a little old for that show?" their mother asked casually, finally selecting the green tea.  
"You're never too old for Dragon Tales!" Haruto, brandished his spoon like a knight with a sword. 

"You're twenty-four and you live at home, weirdo," Kokoro slurred through a mouthful of cereal.

"That's off-putting.” Haruto’s tone was somewhat cheery considering the insulting topic against him.

"Yeah, you should be  _ off pudding _ ," she countered, prodding her brother’s rather flat stomach. Koko and Haruto were exceptionally close and tremendously similar to one another. Both siblings inherited their mother’s dark skin and hereditary eccentric attitude. They both also just so happened to be gay, which isn't hereditary, probably, but who's to say, because they both got the hypothetical gene for it. (It wasn’t really a shock to their family, but Renada was a little disappointed in losing the bet against her husband.)

"Mom!" Haruto whined. "Koko's being mean!"

"Well, she's not wrong…" their mother mused, scrubbing the counter.

"Maybe you could join me," their father walked in, dressed in the nines for work. "I'm thinking about getting in shape.”  
"But dad, round _is_ a shape.”  
Jiro fixed his son with one of his lawyer-man death glares. Living their whole lifetime with this man warranted an immunity to authority figures and scolding, especially considering how misbehaved they both were as children. "You are the biggest mistake of my fucking life," he stalked out of the room with sharp footsteps that were required to be the powerful lawyer that he was.

Their dad's humor was a little warped, to say the least. It was harsh, but said in some mix honest jest and utilitarian parenting… for the most part. _Maybe that's why Haruto turned out so weird,_ Koko shrugged to herself, completely ignoring her own wackiness but not unknowingly. (She wasn’t a hypocrite. Koko was quite insane herself.)  
"But, _daddy!_ How could you say that to your own son?" It would be dishonest to say Haruto was the most dramatic despite this behavior, simply because the whole family was made up of melodramatic nutjobs.   
"Jiro, watch your fucking language," Renada hollered back at her Japanese husband.  
Kokoro nudged her brother, "At least we know where you get your strut from."  
"I do not strut!" Haruto abruptly shot up into a standing position.  
"Yeah, you do. Like an overly sexualized female superhero in a shittily made comic book."  
"Yeah, well your dress is monstrous. Someone could die just looking at that dress. I already feel my insides burning." The pattern was rather bright and funky, but that's besides the point in her own opinion. Koko liked color and nothing could stop her.  
"If both of you do not shut up in the next ten seconds, neither of you will be allowed to watch Dragon Tales ever again," Renada threatened, dangerously waving a soapy knife in the pair’s general direction.   
The brother and sister eyed the intimidating, dark-skinned woman, and then glanced at each other. Insult competitions like this were quite common in their fantastically odd family.

 _“Ten.”_  
"Your face makes onions cry," Haruto offered up, like serving a ball in tennis.  
"At least when I do a handstand my stomach doesn't hit me in the face," Koko hit back.  
_"Nine,"_ their mother counted down wearily, watching the kitchen's clock.  
"You're so ugly, you make blind kids cry," retorted Haruto.  
_"Eight."_  
"I don't exactly hate you, but if you were on fire and I had water, I'd drink it." Koko.  
_"Six."_  
"If I were going to kill myself, I'd climb your ego and jump to your IQ." Haruto.   
_"Four."_  
"The only way you'll ever get laid is if you crawled up a chicken's ass and waited." Koko.  
_"Two."_ _  
_ "What language are you speaking? 'Cause it sounds like bullshit." Haruto.  
" _One._ There, I get in the last word. Now that we've got that out of our systems, off to class and work," said their mother, shooing the kids out the door.  
"Bye, mommy!" Haruto hopped into his fancy adult-person car.

" _God_ , you're _such_ a suck up," Kokoro hissed to him as she passed, but she turned around and called, "Bye, mommy! I love you!"  
"Now look who's being the suck up?"  
Kokoro stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Well suck my dick, why don't you?"  
"With pleasure.”  
"Ew! Incest!" shouted Koko, hopping on her moped to get to her classes at Seacoast College from the suburbs of San Francisco to the city itself. The two siblings sped off into their separate lives and away from home. At least, for the day.  
Meanwhile, Renada was repeatedly banging her head on the front door, almost begging whatever heavenly beings that existed at that time, "Why me? Why me?"  
And that was a typical morning for the Honda family.

***  
"So, Koko…" Ariana Igawa sidled up to where she was sitting in the cafeteria, sporting a profusely bushy ponytail for the day, "What are you doing this weekend?"  
Koko shrugged. "Nothing, really. Probably just watch a few movies and do homework."  
"What do you think about going to the beach?" asked the blonde.  
"Are you inviting me?"  
"Well, the soccer team—"  
"Ha! I knew it!" Koko earned a few glances from her fellow students for bellowing loudly. "You rarely go to the beach. Especially when we’re supposed to be focusing on our finals! It’s May bitch! Finals are like, next week."

Koko always knew when Iggy was bullshitting and vice versa. They met in an Asian Appreciation club in high school, having bonded over ‘vaguely rich families but still going to public high schools and simultaneously both half-Japanese.’ It was quite the ironic meet to be quite honest. When Koko met her, she liked to joke that they made one whole Japanese person. It wasn’t funny then and the joke only got worse.  
"Okay, okay. Just hear me out," said the half-British girl.   
"Shoot," said Kokoro, cocking her head.  
"Well, the soccer club has invited some of the other students, all are welcome this weekend on a short vacation to Malibu—"  
"Malibu? But that's nearly a six-hour drive! Why not just go to a bay area beach in the city?" Kokoro interjected.  
"Aubrey Rogers’ family owns a private beach there," said Ariana. "Besides, we'll get to spend the whole day at the beach, and then relax at a nice hotel for the evening. Wouldn't it be great?"  
"I guess so…" Koko was apprehensive. She wasn't the biggest fan of the soccer team, but she didn't mind popping in to watch a game once in a while. Iggy, on the other hand, was a frequent visitor. She went to practices and games often enough to know the name of each player of the Seacoast College’s needlessly famous soccer team.  
"Oh, thank you! It's going to be so much fun!" Ariana squealed.  
"What's going to be so much fun?" Koko's other friend, Amara Steele, approached the pair.  
"Oh, hey, Mara! Koko and I are going to the soccer team's beach vacation. Do you want to come as well? I don't think they'd mind if I invited a couple friends. You guys have gone to a game at least once, even if it was last year," replied Ariana.  
Amara rolled her monotonous, mahogany eyes with a groan. "Sorry, guys, I can't. My parents have a work party to attend and they want me to come."

"That sucks.”  
"Mmhmm," said Ariana, "Too bad. It would've been tons of fun with you there."  
The three volleyball players dwelled in mutual understanding while they waited in the cafeteria for their individual afternoon classes to begin. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred; not that anything unordinary ever occurred at Seacoast College. In its core, the college functioned as a rich-kid school, for prominent families mostly. It was all rather prestigious, and filled with complete wackos with massive creativity and the money to do anything, even fight God maybe. 

Koko’s family was of rather high status in California, as her mother owned her own expanding restaurant business and her father was a prominent lawyer. Almost everyone who went to Seacoast came from a high status, except the occasional genius, honor student. In fact, soccer team member Gabriel Hunter’s great-great-grandfather founded the school in the 1890’s. 

Though they were all about to be juniors in the next year, much to Ariana's discontentment, none of them were in the same major as Gabriel, the theater department, which was fairly apt for Gabriel’s personality. Koko and Amara were generally indifferent to the situation, glad that they didn't have the over-dramatic 'princely' soccer player in any of their classes.  
Later that day, the trio met up in the girl's locker room before volleyball practice began and the beach conversation started up again.   
"So, if your parents say yes, which they most likely will, I'll pick you up in the limo, and we'll head down to the airport where Aubrey's private jet is. And then we'll fly to the beach and relax in the sun and spend time with the hosts. Oh, it'll be amazing!" Ariana gushed, tugging on her shorts. 

_Rich people, honestly,_ Koko thought, well aware of her own high economic status. Her favorite thing to say around her arrogantly wealthy classmates was “Eat the Rich.” She was well on the side of ‘no one should ever need this much money in one lifetime.’ She knew there was a firm difference between being wealthy, like owning a nice home, having several cars and living comfortably, and being a hoarding billionaire.  
"I honestly don't know what you see in that soccer team." Mara led the trio towards the practice gym.   
"It's a chance to stare at hot guys that are sweaty and athletic, what's not to like?" mused Kokoro as she hurriedly shoved on a shoe. "I mean, at the beach, I'll get to stare at them in their swim shorts. Who wouldn't like that?"  
"How could you only like them for their bodies?!" Ariana was genuinely shocked, also immensely aware of Koko’s preferences, and extremely accepting of her best friend. "Gabriel is the kindest, most chivalrous man I'll ever know!"  
"I don't know about them, Iggy. They're trouble, I just know it. And this trip isn't going to turn out well," Amara addressed Ariana directly.  
Kokoro shifted uneasily. When Mara had a bad feeling about something, it usually proved true. It was as if she was more in tune with her intuition or something.  
"Nonsense! We'll be in the arms of the soccer team! They'll never let anything happen to us." Ariana dreamily looked up, as if she were thinking of a scenario where Gabriel came to her rescue. Koko had reason to believe that Iggy had literal stars in her eyes.  
"Hello, girls. Are you all ready for practice?" asked the team captain as she entered the spacious locker room. It was so vast it practically echoed.  
"Hey, Katie!" Koko grinned at the upcoming senior.  
Katie Bath has been the team captain since last year. Unfortunately, the team had lost several members upon graduation, so they were down to eight total players, way below the usual. At least for practice, they had an even number.  
"Oh, Katie?" asked Ariana.  
"Yeah?" answered Katie. She was already clad in her pristine uniform and white tennis shoes.  
"Are you going to the soccer team's beach vacation?"  
Katie smiled. "Definitely! And so is Virginia." Virginia Hucks was also part of the team, and Katie's best friend.  
"Great! I can't wait. It'll be so much fun!" Ariana enthused, throwing her hands up for added effect and almost whacking Amara in the process.  
The rest of their team members had begun to show up, and soon the locker room was filled with chatter. Kokoro tuned out the conversations, turning to Mara.  
"Do you really think something bad's going to happen?" she asked, slightly unnerved now.

Amara ruffled her bleached afro. "I'm not sure, Koko. Just be careful."  
"I try, but for some reason I end up in the worst of situations." Kokoro quirked her lips wryly. “I’m cursed.”  
Mara let out a chuckle. "I think you're just a danger magnet."  
"All right, chickadees!" Katie hollered above the noise. "Coach can't make it, so we'll just be doing drills for today."  
A series of groans rumbled through the small group of students. If there was one thing they hated about practice, it was a whole hour of drills.  
As they finally filed out of the locker room, Koko slung an arm around her tall, blonde friend.  
"And I only like the soccer team for their bodies because there isn't anything else to like!" she teased, running off when Ariana's face reddened. Whether from anger or embarrassment, Koko would never know.

Practice went on for what felt like days, and the drills hadn’t helped, stretching their patience thinner than the paper poster in the gym with a kitten on it, saying “Just Hang In There!”  
"I think I have a concussion," Koko groaned from her sprawled position on a bench in the locker room.  
"Oh, don't be such a big baby, Koko-puff," said Ariana, already pulling on her shorts. That girl could move like the speed of lightning, especially when the soccer team was involved.  
"Be thankful she let us go early," said Amara.  
"Amen to that." She was absolutely sure that come the following morning, she would be covered in bruises. Oh, how lovely that would look in a bikini.

***  
"I am so glad you talked me into this, Iggy," Kokoro murmured to herself, watching her friend flirt with Gabriel on the rock. It was rather funny seeing the lineup of girls milling around acting like they weren’t waiting to pounce on the boy for their time with the soccer team's 'prince,' or rather, narcissistic team captain  
Koko adjusted her black bikini as she flipped onto her back. She was hereditarily dark-skinned, so there was no real need to tan. Nevertheless, the sun felt so warm and relaxing as she lounged on the beach towel, it was making her rather lethargic. The view was gorgeous; the water was a pristine turquoise, and the beach was as white as snow, and the sun was high in the sky. Not to mention all the pretty people worth ogling in Koko’s vicinity, including the soccer club and all their little groupie girls.   
A little while later, Koko tossed aside her sports magazine, bored with the bombardment of advertisements and abundance of men jacked up on steroids. She made her way to the umbrella table where Iggy was giggling with a bunch of other girls.  
"So, are you happy you came?" asked Ariana, twirling a lock of hair as she repeatedly glanced at the blonde athlete lounging in a chair.   
"Oh, yes. Definitely.” Kokoro was being completely honest. She scanned the beach, deciding on what to do next. She didn't want to lounge anymore, or read, for that matter. She needed to burn some energy.  
"Want to go play some beach volleyball? I'm sure Virginia and Katie would love to play a game or two," Koko pondered, bumping her friend with her hip.  
"I'm up for it," Ariana nodded.  
"Great!" Kokoro whirled around to find their two teammates; she saw them over near the soccer team’s co-captain, Aubrey. "Virginia! Katie!" she hollered, getting the girls' attention, "You guys want to play some volleyball?"  
Katie exchanged looks with Virginia and shook her auburn head. "Maybe later!" she called back.  
"Damn, it's kind of hard to play with just two," Koko muttered, tossing the beach ball between her hands.  
Suddenly, a pair of shadows fell upon the girls. It was Dorian and Terrell Beasley  
"Say, we've already played a game—"  
"—But we wouldn't mind playing another."  
"Really?" Koko stared at the twins on the soccer team with mild disbelief.  
"Sure," they said synchronously.  
"Great! Let's go!" Ariana giggled, and Koko caught her eyeing the twins' carbon copy physiques. Now who's the one who only likes them for their bodies?  
Koko pitched the ball towards the twin in the purple and black trunks, "Your serve, purple shorts."  
"It's Terrell," he replied with a polite smile.  
"And I'm Koko, if you didn't already know. Now are we just going to sit around and talk? Or are we going to play?"  
"Game on!" Dorian yelled from the other side of the net.  
And with that, the four were off on a heated match of beach volleyball. The twins were, after all, up against two long term members of the school's volleyball team.  
"Mine!" Ariana called, volleying the ball.  
"Got it!" Koko yelled, spiking the beach ball just out of Dorian's reach.  
"Damn, how'd you guys get so good?" The twin in the red shorts asked as he picked up the ball.  
Ariana let out a laugh. "We're on the girl's volleyball team. Of course we're good."

"No, we're on fire!" added Kokoro, doing a little jig.  
Ariana face palmed. "Don't do that. It's embarrassing," she hissed.  
"Don't do what, Iggy? This?" asked Koko, exaggerating the awful dance moves even more. She was pretty sure they called it 'krumping.'

"Oh, please, no, not the–" Ariana groaned as Koko did the snake dance move. "… And you're doing it."  
"You wish you had moves as hot as these," responded the dark haired girl.  
"I'm getting water.” Ariana rolled her eyes and flounced to the cooler.  
"Hey, where'd the twins go?" asked Koko, following her friend.  
"Beats me," said Ariana, taking a sip of water. "But, look at Gabriel, isn't he handsome?" she pined once again, gazing at the blonde.  
"Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God.” Koko grunted theatrically thrusting her pelvis at each word.  
Ariana's face went absolutely red – a frequent occurrence when in Koko's presence. Kokoro had a bad habit of embarrassing her friends.  
"You're so immature," Ariana huffed, tossing her long hair over her shoulder.  
"I'm just marinating in my youth.” Koko plopped down on the lounge chair.  
"Marinating in my youth..." Ariana slouched away.  
"Ahhh…" Koko relaxed once again. The game had tired her out, and she was feeling as sluggish as a sloth. Kokoro sprawled out onto her nearby towel and let the sun slip her into slumber.

She had a rather pleasant, passive feeling dream, as if it was in a happy slow motion film.   
"Wake up, Koko-puff," Ariana's soft voice echoed; Koko felt a hand nudge her shoulder.  
"Mmhfgh," she slurred, rolling away from the annoying hand. Apparently, she rolled too far, and the next thing she knew, she was laying on the sand.  
She spat out the sand while Ariana snickered at her friend's misfortune. Koko sat up, squinting at Ariana's shaded form.  
"How long was I asleep?" Koko began scraping the sand off her tongue. The sun was low on the horizon, creating a spectacular sunset view.  
"For quite a while, actually. We are going to head back to the hotel in a bit," answered Ariana.  
"Well, I'm going to wash off. I have sand in places where sand should definitely not be," stated Koko rightly, fidgeting in her suit.  
"Okay, be quick about it," and she headed toward Katie and Virginia, both of whom were flirting with a soccer player.  
Kokoro speedily made her way into the ocean, splashing through the water like a little kid. Strangely, the water was still. She dove under, and once she surfaced, Koko swam aimlessly in the colored water. It looked like someone had smeared the ocean with oil paints.  
Treading water, Koko waved to the girls on the cliff; they looked like ants. Koko noticed that she'd swum quite far out. Oh, well. The sea was calm enough, so she wouldn't get swept out with any whitecaps.  
Koko suddenly heard yelling on the beach. She peered at quite a strange scene: Gabriel and the twins were running down the flat beach, chasing a sheet they had been attempting to fold. Every time they got close, the sheet moved. The scene with the sheet trailed down her train of thought, causing her to remember some joke about “ALL THESE GHOSTS AND I STILL CAN'T FIND A BOO.” She snorted at how abstract the joke was and continued to wade through the water lazily until she reached a sandbar.   
Kokoro had just begun to swim back, when something swiftly snagged at her left leg.  
It was an unexpected pressure, but it felt like a thousand blades piercing her calf. The pain was enough to trip her and she splashed into the salty depths below. She tried to let out a scream, but water filled her mouth and the salt burned her throat. She thrashed against her seemingly invisible attacker, flailing her arms and her free leg. Her unrestrained foot collided with something that felt like wet sandpaper. 

And then, the pressure was gone from her trapped left leg, replaced with an antagonistic throbbing.   
Trying to keep her cool, Koko broke the surface messily. She swam slowly back to shore, against the intense pain in her wrecked leg. Take the agony of stubbing a pinky toe, and multiply it by a couple hundred. That's what the pain felt like, multiplied by another thousand and focused at her mangled shin. She didn't even want to see the damage. All she could focused on was getting back to shore for help  
After an excruciatingly long swim, Koko's good foot hit the sand. She crawled forward through the water.  
"Hey, Koko. Are you ready to go?" Ariana was unaware of Koko’s injury. Koko crawled closer, the course sand almost unfelt at this point.

Unexpectedly, a dazed Koko distantly understood that Ariana had let out an ear splitting screech. "Your leg! What happened to your leg?!"   
" _Where's everyone else?_ " asked Kokoro shakily, attempting to ignore the throbbing and remain steady.  
"They went back to the hotel when Gabriel and twins caught the sheet," said Ariana, throwing Koko's arm over her shoulder, endeavoring to drag her friend farther up the beach and closer to help. "Oh my god, your leg."  
“ _Is anyone left_?" asked Koko, wincing as she leaned on Ariana. She didn't let her injured leg touch the ground; she didn't want to even look at it.  
"Yes, Aubrey and the team," replied Ariana. "HELP! SOMEONE, HELP!"  
Kokoro cringed at the sheer volume. They quickly reached a lounge chair close to the water, in which Koko slithered up into. The pair heard shouts from the distance, but they were too distant to hear anything discernable.  
At that moment, Koko’s stomach turned and she promptly threw up.  
"Oh, that's fucking gross," she muttered, wiping her mouth.  
"Get Aubrey," a solemn voice nearby ordered. Kokoro saw Ariana take off running toward the direction of the boy.  
"Oh, hello there," she said dazedly, seeing another soccer player, Dia as she was commonly known. Diwata Reyna Opulencia was rather strong and silent in a stern, practiced way. She was a known martial artist who played on the soccer team, in fact the only female player besides their manager. She snatched a beach towel, and tore off a strip. She calmly tied a tourniquet just under Koko’s knee. When she was done, she spared her a glance.  
"What happened?" She seemed utterly composed.  
"I was shark bait. Oo ha ha." She began seeing dark spots. She blinked rapidly. Dia's face contorted slightly, with concern or worry—she couldn't tell at the moment, as she was a little preoccupied.  
"I have called for a helicopter; they'll be here in a few minutes," a dark haired boy said, crouching down in front of her. It was the ever composed Aubrey Rogers. "Miss Honda, stay with us. We need you to stay awake."  
Another face blocked out the sun, "Koko-puff, stay awake, honey. Please, Koko, stay with me."  
"Pipe the fuck down, Iggy. I'm not dying. 'Tis but a flesh wound," said Kokoro.  
"A pretty nasty one," Aubrey muttered, clearly he didn't get the reference.  
"She's losing a lot of blood," said Dia.  
Koko blinked at the athlete of Filipino descent. "Holy shit, you talked. Again."  
Silence ensued. It was quite tense, actually.  
"Am I dying?" Kokoro asked no one in particular, trying to take a stab at humor.  
"You're not dying!" Ariana wailed, on the verge of tears.  
"Really? ‘Cause it feels like I'm in heaven," Koko slurred, ogling the female soccer player.   
"Dia, make sure that the others do not come out of the house. They do not need to see this," Aubrey ordered.  
Dia gave a reluctant nod, heading back into the Rogers’ vacation home.  
"What's going to happen? Will she be all right?" asked Ariana. The long haired girl clutched Koko's hand, glancing at Aubrey.  
"I can't say fo—"  
"Hey, look, the helicopter!" Koko exclaimed, promptly fainting.


	2. Fishy Bastard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here's a note, I'm gonna release HOPEFULLY once a week, as I already have about 19 chapters written but unedited, and I'm going to be simultaneously writing new chapters. So, there.

Chapter 2-   
Fishy Bastard

  
"Who were you on the phone with?" Casey Graham asked nonchalantly. Casey was the team’s student manager. There was no girls soccer team, surprisingly, so she settled for being manager for the boy’s team. Of course they let her, because she was the only “poor person” in her year, and they being ignorant rich kids, felt it was an adventure learning how to be “poor.” Casey felt this was funny because she wasn’t even poor by any normal standard, and rich people were sorta the worst.

Aubrey pocketed his phone. "I was receiving an update from the hospital."  
Casey was somewhat surprised. The cold, calculating athlete rarely divulged any information on private manners.  
"If you don't mind my asking, what for?" Casey enquired, deciding to press her luck.  
Aubrey spared a look at the other soccer players. They were currently on the private jet back to San Francisco. The rest of the team was conked out in their seats, pardon Dia, the latter player gazing out the window, whilst Gabriel was snoozing, and the twins were watching a movie with their headphones.  
"You recall when you were leaving to go to the house?" he asked.  
"Yes," Casey remembered well. She had washed off, then headed back to the mansion muttering about idiot rich people.  
"Shortly after you all went inside, I had some matters to discuss with my family's police force about the security. One of our customers, Ariana Igawa, came running. I had assumed all of our customers had left, but I was unfortunately mistaken," said Aubrey, adjusting his glasses. "Kokoro Honda, Miss Igawa's friend, had taken a last minute swim. During the incident involving the sheet, she was in the water."  
"And?" Casey prodded.  
Aubrey cleared his throat. "Well, it has been decades since the last shark attack in the area. They are not known to come so close to the shores."  
"Is that why Dia had blood on her hands?" asked Casey quietly.  
Aubrey sighed. "Yes. Though, fortunately, Miss Honda has survived."  
"Most of her," a deeply feminine voice resounded. Casey looked up sharply, her eyes meeting with the silent girl’s.  
"Oh," was all she could seem to say. Casey felt intense sympathy for Koko. If her memory served correct, the girl was on the volleyball team, along with a couple of the soccer team's other random groupies.  
"Do not worry about her. My family's hospital has the best doctors around. She is in good hands.”  
Casey nodded, though she knew that no doctor was that good. The best doctor in the world couldn't fix the girl, whatever she had lost. Not to mention the emotional trauma the girl would have had to endure.  
Eventually, the matter was shoved to the back of her head when the team began to get restless. Trying to keep several rich bastards occupied so they'd stop annoying her was quite the task. Tossing them “poor people sweets” could only keep them at bay for so long.  
***  
"HA! EAT MY DUST!" shouted Koko.  
"WHY DON'T YOU EAT MINE?!" countered Haruto.  
"IF I WANTED MY OWN COMEBACK, I WOULD'VE WIPED IT OFF YOUR THIRD CHIN!"   
Koko was sitting up in the hospital bed with a controller in her hands. Her brother was seated on the edge of the hard, half-plastic half-metal chair parallel to the bed. Both siblings were glaring at the television screen, each guiding a character in a cart.  
Just then, a weary nurse poked her head through the entry. "Miss Honda, there is someone here to see you."  
"Send 'em in." Koko’s eyes were still glued to the screen.  
"SUCKER! You just got owned!"  
"Noooo!" wailed Kokoro, theatrically tossing an arm over her eyes, "I was so close!"  
"Ahem," someone cleared their throat, interrupting the pair.  
Koko peeked out, and saw Aubrey Rogers in the doorway.  
Haruto checked his watch. "I should probably get going. I've got work to do!" He shut off the console.   
"Fine. But I want a rematch when I get out of here," Kokoro called after her brother's retreating back.  
"So what brings you here, today?"  
"I had some business to attend to with my father, and I thought I would drop by to see how you are doing.”  
"Well, I'm doing swell," she informed him cheerfully.  
Aubrey raised an eyebrow. "Has the hospital been accommodating?"   
"Yup, it's great. I get food whenever I want, and the television gets hundreds of channels," she replied. "How're things at school? How's the soccer team?" Right now, she was just trying to make conversation. It was boring at the hospital, and she didn't get too many visitors.  
"School is the same, as usual," said Aubrey. "And business at the soccer team is decent."  
"That's good," said Koko. "I don't get many updates from the outside world. The only ones who come regularly are my parents and my brother. Amara's got a cold, and Ariana doesn't really like hospitals. I think the whole leg thing makes her uncomfortable."  
Kokoro observed Aubrey's eyes flit to the outline of her legs. She had the starched sheets draped over them, since the hospital gown was kind of drafty.  
"That is most unfortunate, but I hope that our staff has made you feel at home," he said.  
Koko's face fell. "You didn't come to see me on your own will, did you?"  
Aubrey pressed his lips together, and adjusted his glasses.  
Koko sighed, rather exasperated. "Your father sent you to make sure we wouldn't sue, right?" She wasn't one to beat around the bush.  
"Yes." Aubrey gave a reluctant nod.  
"At least you're straightforward," she muttered dryly. "We're not going to sue. You can't, uh, tame the sea, or what's in it. Also it was _my_ choice to go into the water so..." There was an awkward silence following her statement.  
"If you don't mind, Miss Honda," said Aubrey. "I must be going."  
"Err, right, duty calls, I guess? I'll see you at school," responded Koko.  
As Aubrey turned to leave, Kokoro called after him, "Hey, Aubrey?"  
He looked back at the girl in the hospital bed. "Yes?"  
"Could you tell Katie, if you see her at school, that I'm sorry?" asked Koko. "For well, err… You know, not being at practice?"  
Aubrey frowned, but nodded nonetheless, "I will. Have a good day, Miss Honda."  
"It's Koko. And you, too," she replied. He was so uptight, calling her Miss Honda.  
Kokoro watched him leave. Now she left alone to her own devices. She'd already been in the hospital for far too long. The hospital would be releasing her in two days' time, so she was stuck there for the time being, with absolutely nothing to do. There was no way she was going to watch her brother's worn copy of 'Mamma Mia!' again despite her love for 70’s ABBA bops sung by Meryl Streep. He had forced her to watch it four times in the past couple days following her surgery whilst wrangling her hair into cornrows to keep it out of her way. Of course her having the sexuality of a sapphic Hayley Kiyoko song, she hadn’t cared about the reruns, but she was bored and now her head felt a little sore.  
Seizing the remote, Koko flipped through the channels until she fell asleep again, only to dream of big fish driving cars singing “Chiquitita.”  
By the next afternoon, Kokoro had been released from the hospital. She'd been ecstatic about escaping the confines of the dreary hospital earlier than expected. After much convincing, Koko was granted permission by the mothership (her mother) to attend classes the following day.  
At the moment, her mother was driving her to Seacoast. Since she only had one full leg at the moment, it was impossible for Koko to drive her motorbike.  
"Haruto will pick you up after your last class, though you'll have to wait a bit, since he doesn't get off work until after four. He'll take you to your appointment with the prosthetist at four-forty-five," said her mother, pulling into the school's drop-off zone.  
Several limousines and expensive cars were lined up. Her mother's luxurious vehicle fit right in. Kokoro's parents weren't keen on showy things, but they definitely indulged in lavish transportation.  
"Sounds good," replied Koko, giving a forced smile.  
"I'll get your things," said her mother, hopping out of the car and unlocking the trunk's latch.  
Koko waited in the passenger's seat, chewing on her lip. She wasn't nervous about seeing her friends and classmates; she was nervous about tripping and falling flat on her face. Well, at least more than usual.  
"Thanks, mom," she said, slinging her backpack over both shoulders.  
"Anything for my baby," replied Renada. "And here are your crutches."  
Fortunately, the crutches were not the ones that you stuck under your armpits, leaving the victim with sore underarms for the whole day. They were the kind that the user would rest their forearms against, grasping a protruding handle. Kokoro had adamantly refused a wheelchair, seeing as she could walk with a little help.  
She said goodbye, and kissed her mother on the cheek. She eyed the black car until it drove away from the curb. Once it was gone, she made the trek to the science building for her first class of the day.  
Immediately, when she entered the classroom, she was mauled by a fluffy bubble of bleached blonde hair.  
"Oof!" she exhaled.  
"I am so sorry I couldn't visit you! My mother wouldn't let me take a step out the front door for two whole days!" Amara prattled uncharacteristically. "How are you? The team can't wait to see how you're doing. You look great!"  
"Most of me." Kokoro gave a lopsided grin. Mara rarely said so much at one time. And judging by Amara's red, runny nose and the sweatpants hiding her flip-flopped feet, she was probably still sick.  
Amara's eyes grew round like saucers and glanced her left leg. "Does it hurt?"  
"Nah, it's more of a dull throbbing. The doc says it should fade away in a few weeks. In the meantime I’m on some pretty whack pain pills.”  
"Good. Then you can get back to playing. Katie was beside herself when she heard that you were in the hospital," said the blonde.  
"Well, I can't wait.” Koko ungracefully banged down at her desk. "But first I have to get the prosthetic. It's going to take a while, though, for them to make it." She scrunched up her nose with frustration.  
"Ugh, that sucks," Amara groaned, taking a seat beside Koko.  
"Yup. So, I have to totter around like a cat on catnip for a month, but I'm going to meet with my doctor and a prosthetist after school. So, I'll be on the court in no time at all.”  
"Always the optimist," said Amara. She took out a crinkled tissue and rubbed her nose.  
"Have you seen Ariana?" asked Kokoro.  
Mara shook her head. "Not really. She's been very withdrawn, lately. She always comes in right before the bell, and leaves as soon as her classes are over. I'm pretty sure she still goes to the soccer team’s practices and games, but there's no way I'm going over there… I'm worried about her. She hasn't told me anything about the accident. Nobody knows anything about it."  
Koko bit her lip. "I'll fill you in at lunch, along with the rest of the girls. There isn't much to say really…"  
"There's a lot to say, Koko. What happened isn’t something to take lightly."

Koko knew this, but she didn’t want to address this. If there was ever a chance for Koko to avoid her feelings, she would take it. She was almost 20, she couldn’t cry like a baby anymore.  
Just as the bell rang, Ariana walked in. Kokoro stared at the once bubbly, bright girl. She made eye contact with Ariana, but the tall girl quickly averted her eyes, and sat down near the window.   
When their normal lunchtime in the caf came around, Ariana bolted out of the lecture before Koko had the chance to utter a word. Amara sighed, but helped Koko with her things. The pair of girls made their way to the cafeteria in silence to meet the rest of the girl’s volleyball team. However, that silence was abruptly broken when their teammates caught sight of them.  
"Oh my goodness! I heard you were in the hospital!" exclaimed Trinity Wells, a bright-eyed freshman from Koko’s major in art.   
"Are you okay?" asked Ami Undorfer; she was a sophomore from the psych department. "I heard you were sick with some fatal illness."  
"Why were you in the hospital?" asked Nina Wang. More chatter followed. Koko's teammates sounded more like babbling budgies than students.  
"What the hell happened to you?"  
The other girls instantly stopped firing question after question when their team captain spoke up, loud and clear.  
"Nothing that will stop me from playing.” Koko was getting a bit tense but continued on, pretending her anxiety didn’t exist.  
There was a moment of tension, before Katie's face broke into a grin. "Don't ever scare us like that again," she said, tightly hugging the younger girl.  
"Let's get some food and I'll fill you in on everything.” Her teammates nodded in agreement.  
Soon, they were all seated, with the exclusion of Ariana, still missing.  
"So just what exactly happened?" asked Nina impatiently. She was a bit of a snob, but on the court she had a penchant for violence. Let's just say that they need a new ball after every game.  
"I went to the soccer team's vacation thingy with Ariana. I went swimming and I was attacked by a shark," stated Kokoro bluntly. Cue the various gasps of horror and shock. What a shocking reaction.  
"The doctors think it was a bull shark. Probably a young one, seeing as it only bit once. Kind of like a taste test," Koko continued.  
"Is that why you have the crutches?" Trinity Wells asked innocently—she was a little slow sometimes, but Koko resolved to think that everyone was in their own way.  
"Yup," replied Koko "But only until I get the prosthetic, which should only take a month or two."  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Hold up a minute!" exclaimed Katie. "Prosthetic?"  
Kokoro was taken aback by the redhead's outburst. "Yes? I thought it was obvious…"  
"Not with all that material," May Hannon grumbled, gesturing to the obscenely poofy skirt that Koko wore with as much spite as she could muster (which was rather difficult, seeing as the skirt was quite horrid, especially for Koko’s taste).  
"Well, once you get it, you're back on the court, right?”  
Kokoro beamed. "I wouldn't have it any other way."  
"Can we see it?" Ami asked timidly.  
"Sure, but I can't take the bandage off," replied Koko. She lifted up the skirt of her dress just up to the knee, and lifted her leg up on the bench.  
"Thankfully, the fishy bastard—sorry—bit way below my knee, but he still got my foot," she informed her teammates. Her leg looked normal, however, a few inches below her knee was downright nothing.  
"Damn, girl," Mara muttered.  
"At least now I can be a convincing pirate for Halloween," Koko joked, earning an eye roll from Amara.  
She suddenly felt like something was missing. Ariana should have been there. Ariana should've told her off for joking about such serious matters, and then whack her on the head like she usually would.

The rest of the day went by slowly, with some studio time and a history in the art building.

Kokoro had stayed to watch practice that afternoon, though she could only sit and watch. By the time it had finished, Koko found a new resolve to chase after her absent friend.   
"Where are you going, Koko?" asked Mara, pulling on some after[practice sweats.  
"I'm going to the soccer field. I want to see if I can catch Iggy," she replied.  
"Don't you have an appointment?"  
"Yeah, but not for another half-hour." Koko swung haphazardly on her crutches.  
"Okay, well, I'll see you around, then," said Mara. "Just don't push her too hard."  
"Will do. See you tomorrow." Kokoro headed out the locker room doors.  
She made her way, albeit slowly, to the soccer pitch. She arrived after what felt like an eternity, but it was really just ten minutes. Koko pushed open the door to the outside field following a short balancing act. Steadying on a crutch, holding the other, all while trying to open a door was much more difficult than she'd thought.  
She barely had to search the crowded bleachers to find Ariana. The pretty girl was sitting down with a few others, all eyes glued to the most popular blonde soccer player. Kokoro made a beeline for her friend.  
Not wasting any time in fear of her friend evading her once again, Koko cut right to the chase. "Iggy?"  
Ariana whipped her head around, giving a jump of surprise. "Sorry," she said, getting up. "I have to go. I have a last minute meeting with a professor you don’t know the name of, uh professor of uhh-"  
"Iggy, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" asked Koko, watching helplessly as her friend started to leave. "Please, talk to me, Iggy," she pleaded, following the brunette to the end of the stands.  
Ariana whirled around. "Don't call me that!" she snapped.  
Koko stopped in her tracks. "But I've called you that for as long as I've known you. Just tell me what's bothering you."  
"How can you be so calm about this?!" exclaimed Ariana.  
"About what?" said Koko stupidly.  
"About everything!" Ariana cried, "You got your left leg torn off by a shark, and you were cracking jokes about it while your life was in danger!"  
It was as if a pressurized pipe unexpectedly burst inside her. "Well, how was I supposed to act?! What was I supposed to do? Break down and cry like you did?! Have a panic attack like you did?!" Kokoro countered heatedly, "I got my entire fucking foot torn off! And the only ones to do something about it was that completely anal guy and that freaky silent girl right there!"  
"What was I supposed to do?! I'm not a doctor!" retorted Ariana.

Not paying attention to the field, neither girl saw the team approach the stands in concern when the yelling started.  
"Ladies, I would kindly ask you to lea—"  
"SHUT UP!" They both shouted at Aubrey Rogers—or as Koko had just called him, 'that completely anal guy.'  
"Why does everything have to be about you?! I'm the one who lost a goddamn foot! Not you! So why on earth are you acting like it was you? And why are you avoiding me?!" Kokoro yelled.  
"Because every time I look at you, all I see is your mutilated leg! I have nightmares about it! Sharks biting off my limbs! I can't sleep at night because that's all I see when I close my eyes!" cried Ariana, her eyes watering.  
"Why don't you see a goddamn therapist then?!" Kokoro retorted, too riled up to see straight. "I'm sure he'd love to hear about all your problems! How a shark bit you! Oh, wait, that was me. How about when you lost a foot?! Oh, wait, that was me, too!"  
"Why do you have to have everything revolve around you?! You weren't the only one who was affected by the attack!"  
"Revolve around me?! What the f—how many times do I have to tell you?! I'm the one who lost a leg! It’s not like I meant for this to happen!" Kokoro exclaimed.  
"I'm not dealing with this anymore!" Ariana sobbed, fleeing the stands before Koko had the chance to follow.  
Kokoro stood there stunned, along with the rest of the players and supporters.  
Aubrey Rogers was the one to discontinue the stillness, "Miss Honda, would you please come with me?"  
With one look at the team, Kokoro quickly exited through the open gate of the stadium, ignoring Aubrey’s request. The stands instantly erupted with chatter. She sped down the sidewalk towards the gym, and took a random turn. Feeling that she was far enough away from the field, she dropped down to the ground and started sobbing.  
All her pent up anger, sadness, and confusion was just hurtling out in a huge tidal wave of emotion. That, or she could've been extra emotional from her pain meds. Maybe it was a mix of the two. Either way, Koko normally had a way of pushing down her feelings and then having complete meltdowns. It was all rather unfortunate.   
Wiping her eyes when hearing her phone beep, Koko looked at the bright screen of her cell phone to see a text message from her brother.  
_Haruto: Your chariot awaits, your highness._

_ Koko: I'll be down in a minute. Or two. This place is endless. _

_Haruto: Sure thing, sista! We gon get you a leg thingy!_ __  
Kokoro let out a chuckle at her brother's enthusiasm; it was somewhat contagious. With more effort than usual, Koko stood up and headed down to the front of the college.  
She truly hoped that things would turn out all right. Koko had enough self-made misery in her life without quarreling best friends.


End file.
